In Treta Yuga, there was a king named Harishchandra. Once he was hunting in the Mahabahu forest when suddenly, he heard loud cries of a woman- ‘Save me! Save me!’ It was followed by the cries of many women. Hearing those cries, King Harishchandra shouted loudly- ‘Don’t be afraid’ and…
After the exile of Sudyumna, Manu took to penance with a desire to have son. Pleased by his penance Sri Hari blessed him to have ten sons. Parishadhru was the eldest of them. He was appointed in the service of the cows. One night in darkness, a tiger broke into…
Previous Births of Gaja and Grah Killed by the God, the crocodile at once acquired a divine appearance. He was a good-natured Gandharva (demigod) named Huhu, in his previous birth. By the curse of Mahatma Deval, he had to take birth in crocodile form. But now, by the grace of…
Vishrupa became the second Acharya (teacher) of the gods. He also saw over indulgence of Indra in luscious objects. Vishwarup’s mother belonged to demon clan, so he had some inclination for the demons also. Stealthily, he supplied parts of offerings of the oblations to the demons. Very soon, Indra too…
Rahu can be seen as the earliest Vedic astrological pre-science embedded in a story—the ascending and descending nodes created as the moon’s orbit intersects the ecliptic plane of the earth, used in predicting solar and lunar eclipses. Mythologically, Rahu was one of the great demons (daityas) at the Churning of…
Parasara was born to Saktri and his wife Adrisyanti. Parasara’s father Saktri was eaten by a rakshasa (night-wandering demon) before he was born. So Parasara grew up with an immense hatred for Rakshasas. So this great sage of the sacrificial lore performed a mighty sacrifice (yaga) that began destroying all…
Narayana was one of the four sons of the god (deva) Dharma. Dharma-deva had been born from the breast of Brahma. Dharma-deva married the ten daughters of Daksha. His four sons were Nara, Narayana, Hari, and Krishna. Nara and Narayana became great Rishis (sages) practicing severe penances. They stayed in…
Shukdev says, “Ten sons of the King Prachinbarhi were known as Prachetas. They observed severe penance under the sea. When they re-emerged, Chandra (the moon-the ruler of the vegetation) calmed them and presented a beautiful daughter of the apsara Prabhlocha, to them as their wife. From her, Prachetas begot prachetas…
Hearing the tale of Prachetas’ devotion and receiving God’s grace by them, a curiosity arose in the mind of the king Parikshit about self-knowledge and Grihastha Dharma (duties of a married person). He asked Sukhdev, “O Brahmin, Priyvrat was a supreme devotee and self-indulgent. Why did he then live in…
After Brahma had created the seven sages (sapta-rishis) from his mind (manasa- putras), he created Rudra (a storm god) from his anger, Narada from his lap, Daksha (a progenitor) from his right thumb, and Virani from his left. The Puranas accounted for seven of his rebirths, including as a gandharva…
Nara was one of the four sons of the god (deva) Dharma. Dharma-deva had been born from the breast of Brahma. Dharma-deva married the ten daughters of Dak- sha. His four sons were Nara, Narayana, Hari, and Krishna. Nara and Narayana became great ascetics, practicing severe penances. They stayed in…
Naciketas was born to the sage Vajasiravas (also known as Aruni). Naciketas’s dialogue with Yama (death) was made famous in the Katha Upanishad. Vajasravas believed that he would gain heaven (svarga) by giving cattle as charity (or perhaps to the gods in sacrifice). The young Naciketas noticed that the cows…
INDRA DOES PENANCE TO ATONE FOR HIS SINS Pulastya says after being defeated by the demons Indra went to Brahma loka and narrated his woeful tale to him. Sage Kashyapa- his father was also present there. Lord Brahma told Indra that he was reaping the fruits of his evil deeds….
Bali was pleased that he would get an opportunity to see the Almighty God whom the sages contemplate upon. He was proud of his good fortune that the lord was paying him a visit. Shukracharya aware of the reason for Vamana’s arrival warned Bali against making any promise to him….
There was a time when the mountains could fly. When they came to earth, they caused injury and suffering. Humans prayed to Indra, and he cut off the mountains’ wings. The mythic tradition used Mainaka in a variety of ways without much regard to an actual location. Mainaka was the…
Sage Pulastya says- “There lived a Kshatriya who kept enemity towards Brahmins. After his death, he was reborn as a demon and spent his life indulging in nefarious activities. Once he saw a hermit doing penance. He wanted to devour him but was unsuccessful in his attempt as the hermit…
Sage Narada requests Pulastya to describe how Gajendra managed to release itself from the jaws of the crocodile. Pulastya says- “There lived a crocodile in a reservoir near Trikut Mountain. One day, a thirsty elephant arrived there to quench its thirst. The wicked crocodile caught hold of the elephant’s leg…
The Mahabharata is an epic of enormous proportions—a hundred thousand verses, making it arguably the largest such poem in existence. It has traditionally been said to have been dictated by the sage Vyasa to his divine scribe, Ganesa, who wrote it all down using his single tusk as the…
There is scholarly agreement that there was worship of the male generative organ in the Indus Valley civilization. Both archaeological remains and explicit references to “worshippers of the phallus” in the Rigveda support such an interpretation. However one interprets Siva’s origin—as from the Indus Valley, from tribal religion, within the…
Sage Pulastya says- “O Narada! Now, I am going to describe about the origin of Marut Ganas of various Manvantaras. Savan was Swayambhu Manu’s son. He had no sons and when he died, the sorrowful queen- Sudeva heard a heavenly voice, which instructed her to give up her life by…
In spite of death and destruction caused to his army, Andhak still wanted to continue fighting against Lord Shiva’s army. He even dismissed the advises of Shukracharya who wanted a momentary retreat and rebuffed him by saying- “All the deities including Maheshwar and Indra cannot save themselves from my wrath….
Andhak went to Shukracharya and narrated the woeful tale of demons’ defeat. He also requested Shukracharya to help the demons win the battle. Shukracharya was dejected but he assured the demons that he would make alive, all the dead demons with the help of SanJivani Vidya and really all the…
In the meantime, both daughters of Yaksha and the demon arrived at Srikanth Mahadeva temple and engaged themselves in the worship of lord Mahadeva. One day, sage Galav arrived at the temple and was astonished to find two young ladies at such a deserted place. While taking bath, he heard…
Six of the wives of the seven sages, known as the maharishis, were suspected of committing adultery with Agni and were cursed to become the Krittikas, star sisters of the Pleiades. Astrological symbolism resides in this myth, giving an idea of what was observable at that time in the heavens….
The Krishna myth cycle has been integrated in such a way that most Hindus do not know its real complexity. Some of its elements are very ancient, showing that many myths have come together to form modern versions. First, there was the Krishna myth of a divine king, possibly…
Karttikeya’s name derived from his having been raised by the six Krittikas, the name given to six of the seven wives of the seven maharishis. He was also named Skanda and Subrahmanya. Karttikeya appeared in the epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, as a son fathered by (Siva without being…
Shumbh and Nishumbh were sons of Danu. They wanted to avenge Mahishasura’s death and sent many demons like to bring Goddess Chandika after enslaving her. First of all, Sugreev was sent followed by Dhumralochan but both of them were killed by the Goddess. When Shumbh and Nishumbh heard of their…
Maitreya then related the description of the Manu’s daughters. Manu and Shatarupa had three daughters- Akuti, Devhuti and Prasuti. Akuti was married to a Prajapati named Ruchi. They begot two children a son and a daughter. The son later on came to be known as Yagya Avatar of Lord Narayana,…
Mata Devhuti prayed lord Kapila to preach the way for the benefaction of the soul, which is attached with ephimeral body. Lord said ‘O mother, Adhayatma Yoga (spiritual conjugation) is the main way of benefaction for the human beings. With devotion for me, soul becomes self- knowing. Total devotion of…
Married life of Kardam and Devhuti is a lesson for all the civilized couples of the world. Abiding to the limits of human behaviour in married life is a guarantee for the wellbeing of the couple. Without religion and morality, a man is not more than an animal. Kardam and…
The sages requested Lomaharshan to describe about the geographical condition of Kurukshetra. Lomaharshan replied- “There are 7 different forest ranges in Kurukshetra. They are- “Kamyakvan, Aditivan, Vyasavan, Phalkivan, Suryavan, Madhuvan and Sheetvan. Nine rivers flow across Kurukshetra- Saraswati, Vaitarni, Ashga, Mandakini Ganga, Madhustrava, Vasu, Kaushiki, Kaggar and Hiranyavati. Kurukshetra is…
Lomaharshan says- “The shaking and trembling of earth surprised Bali and he enquired about this strange happening to Shukracharya. He was also surprised by the fact that Agni was not accepting the offerings. Shukracharya, after contemplating for a while on this matter, came to know about Vamana’s incarnation. He…
Bali felt sorry for hurting Prahlada’s feelings. He said- “Dear grandfather! My intelligence has been overshadowed by my arrogant attitude. You have done the right thing by cursing me. I am not scared of losing all my prosperity and splendour but your anger is unbearable for me.” Now even Prahlada…
Lomaharshan says- “When Bali saw the demons becoming devoid of radiance and power, he enquired about the reasons from his grandfather, Prahlada. He wondered whether it was a bad omen. Prahlada went into a deep trance and saw the whole earth shaking violently. He also saw high tides rising in…
There are different methods of donating alms. One of the most sacred is known as tulapurusha. In this, a pair of scales is used. The person who is donating the alms ascends on one side of the scales and gold is placed on the other side until the scales are…
Travelling through various pilgrimage places, Vidura reached Prabhas region where he got the news of total destruction of the Kaurvas. The news deeply moved him. In search of solace, he continued to wander from one place of pilgrimage to another place. During his wandering, when he reached the banks of…
The myth of Kamsa is told in a series of nested myths that are an excellent study of karma as a process over many lifetimes. But its primary location is within the Krishna myth cycle, where Kamsa plays a role in Krishna’s nativity and his first great battle with…
Kalindi was the daughter of Surya, the sun god. She was blessed to become a sacred river, also known as the Yamuna. It flowed from the Kalinda mountain and entered the Ganga at Prayaga, a very sacred confluence. At the birth of Krishna, his father Vasudeva had to switch the…
Pulastya says- “Lotus flower manifested from Vishnu’s navel in the month of Ashwin. Similarly, other vegetation also manifested from the different organs of the deities- Kadamb tree from the palm of Kamadev, Dhatura tree from the heart of Lord Shiva, Khair tree from the middle portion of Brahma’s body,…
Sage Pulastya says- “Dharma, the possessor of divine body and who manifested from the heart of Lord Brahma married Murti, the daughter of Daksha. Four sons were born to them- Hari, Krishna, Nara and Narayan. Hari and Krishna engaged themselves in the practice of Yoga whil Nar and Narayan went…
Pulastya says- “After being enlightened by the sages on various subjects, Sukeshi returned to his capital. He taught the demons all that he had learnt. As a result, all the demons became very virtuous. The newly attained virtuosity and religiousness made the demons invincible and powerful. Sukeshi’s capital was situated…
The sages say- “Dharma consists of ten properties such as non-violence, truth, charity, not stealing the property of others, forgiveness, self-restraint, cleanliness etc. Hence it is known as Dashang Dharma. These properties are obligatory for people belonging to all castes and creeds. A Brahmin’s life is categorised into four ashramas-…
Sukeshi expressed his desire to the sages to know about Jambudweep. The sages replied- “Jambudweep is a very large island. It is subdivided into nine parts. Ilavritvarsh is situated in its central part while Bhadrashvavarsh is situated towards its eastern side. Some prominent places situated around it are- Hiranyakvarsh towards…
Sukeshi asked the sages about the sinful deeds, which leads to hell. The sages replied- “People who condemn Veda, deities, Brahmins etc. go to hell. Those who don’t believe in religious texts like Purana etc. or those who cause obstacles in the accomplishment of Yagya or those who prevent a…
Sage Narada was curious to know how the demon King Andhak behaved with the deities. He asked Pulastya in this regard. Pulastya replied- “After ascending the throne, Andhak did a severe penance to please Lord Shiva and received a boon according to which he could neither be killed by the…
Narada asks sage Pulastya about Vamana incarnation: Vamana Purana is one of the eighteen Puranas written by sage Vyasa. It contains tales pertaining to Lord Vishnu in his Vamana (dwarf) incarnation. Sage Pulastya while giving answers to Narada’s enquiry narrates the tale of Vamana Purana. All the Puranas give glimpses…
The story of Kakshivan is quite fragmentary, with some pieces quite ancient mixed with pieces from later mythology. Kakshivan was born according to a custom by which a priest would be requested to give the king a child by his childless queen. King Kalinga was without an heir. He…
Kaikeyi was one of the three (some versions say five) wives of King Dasaratha. She had been a princess of the kingdom of Kekaya, seven day’s journey from Ayodhya. When Dasaratha was summoned to svarga (heaven) to help the devas (gods) in a war with the asuras (demons), Kaikeyi…
Jatayu was one of two sons born to Aruna, chariot driver of Surya (the sun god), and Shyeni, a divine bird. In his youth Jatayu was saved by his brother Sampati as they raced toward the sun, Sampati allowing his wings to be burned as he shielded Jatayu from…
Janaka’s father, Nimi, king of Mithila, was childless and asked the venerable brahmin Vasishtha to preside over a ritual (yajna) for a son. Vasishtha was preoccupied with another ritual and asked the king to wait. King Nimi left without making any commitment and then found another priest named Gautama…